University of Wisconsin-Madison Bucks RIAA

stephencrane informs us of an interesting development at UW Madison. The school, along with many others, has been sent "settlement letters" by the RIAA with instructions to forward them to particular students (or other university community members) that the RIAA believes guilty of illegal filesharing. The letters order the assumed filesharers to identify themselves and to pay for the content they are supposed to have "pirated." The university has sent a blanket letter to all students, reiterating the school's acceptable use policies, but has refused to forward individual letters without a valid subpoena. This lawyer's blog reproduces the letter. The campus newspaper has some coverage on the university's stance.

Comments

in other news...

[Anonymous Coward]

University of wisconsin's enrolments skyrocket.

That's nothing!

[erroneus]

I was singing in the shower the other morning and I was greeted by a lawyer with a letter before my nipples had a chance to harden in the cold post-shower air. (In my defense I contend that I was not in violation because I don't actually know all the words and I was just singing the chorus parts that I was reasonable sure of...)

Re:That's nothing!

[Anonymous Coward]

the big question now of course is are you male or female....

You must be new here...

Re:That's nothing!

[Farmer Tim]

I was singing in the shower the other morning and I was greeted by a lawyer with a letter...

You can only be prosecuted for a public peformance, which raises some interesting questions about your bathroom...

Re:That's nothing!

[LarsG]

..and of the lawyer.

Re:That's nothing!

[beadfulthings]

I think you'll find that the RIAA has that covered:

1) If you live in an apartment building or townhouse, or if your house is sitting on less than a half-acre of land; or if you share your domicile with roomates who are not part of your immediate family;

OR

2) If you are showering in a locker room, dormitory, or other public washroom facility;

THEN your bathroom is deemed to be public and you are subject to prosecution. If your house is situated on more than a half-acre and is shared by members of your immediate family (defined as your spouse, parents, siblings, or children under the age of 21), your bathroom is deemed to be private. HOWEVER, you are advised to make provisions by not singing in the event you are entertaining houseguests.

I understand they're working on sensing devices for shower heads. You should check with your local Home Depot to arrange to purchase your retrofit kit. New shower heads will be sold with the device already installed.

Re:That's nothing!

[brian0918]

"You can only be prosecuted for a public peformance"

The RIAA will simply argue in favor of Cartesian dualism - that in fact the mind is a separate entity/observer, viewing the performance of the body, and is therefore an audience member, thus making it a public performance.

Re:That's nothing!

[clickclickdrone]

which raises some interesting questions about your bathroom...

Are you saying it's not supposed to be in the front yard?

Re:well

[McFadden]

why did they send the notices to the university, if they knew the exact students?

From the tone of the question I'm sure you already know the answer, but presumably because they think:

1. universities will cave-in rather than risk any involvement in a law suit
2. students will be forced to pay if the university is involved, because the few thousand dollars settlement is nothing compared to the tens of thousands at risk if the student gets kicked off their course.
3. because they're a bunch of fucking thugs with morals that make Hitler look like a guy you'd want to marry your daughter.

Oh fuck... I think I've just Godwinned myself.

Re:What a load of shit..

[JensenDied]

This is /. If you can't pick up where the breaks are in the thought from someone who forgot to change to plaintext, forgot to preview, or forgot to tag their quotes and paragraphs you haven't been around long enough.

Re:well

[richie2000]

Oh fuck... I think I've just Godwinned myself. If there isn't special dispensation given when discussing the fascist scum-sucking parasite nazi's that are the *IAA, there damned well should be.

Re:Madison is UW, Milwaukee is UW-M

[stupid_is]

I have no opinion on why Washingtonians are too lazy to pronounce abbreviations fully. Additionally, as a proud alum

Is it as lazy as a Winconsonian not writing a complete word? Shouldn't that be "alumnus" or "alumna"?

Response to the RIAA Letter

[Scarletdown]

To whom it may concern among the lawyers for the RIAA.

We the staff here at the UW-Madison take allegations of piracy on our network most seriously. Rest assured that we have the situation under control, and there is no need for further action on your part. We have identified the students that you have claimed as being engaged in illegal file sharing, and disciplinary action has been taken.

Specifically, the students in question were all freshmen ladies who did not fully realize the gravity of their actions. In three days, we will hold an assembly of all the entire student body and faculty in the stadium. At this time, all of these young, nubile miscreants will be properly paddled as punishment for their illegal actions.

Again, no further action is required upon your part. Thank-you for bringing this situation to our attention. The disciplinary ceremony will be posted to Youtube as soon as possible.

Coridally,

The Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Re:Madison is UW, Milwaukee is UW-M

[Farmer Tim]

Shouldn't that be "alumnus" or "alumna"?

No, he means his chemical formula is M+2SO4M3+2(SO4)324H2O

Re:Madison is UW, Milwaukee is UW-M

[sconeu]

In WI, isn't it "yah, you-betcha-double-you"?

Re:Are you serious you cannot be serious

[lorian69]

Got any sources for that? It's completely ridiculous, but after some of the stuff they've pulled, I wouldn't put it past them.

Doi, he was clearly lying. The retrofit kits are only available from Walmart, not Home Depot.